Headlines

Go To Pro Hockey Rumors
Go To Hoops Rumors

Pirates Rumors

Pirates To Select Billy McKinney’s Contract

By | at

The Pirates will select the contract of outfielder Billy McKinney prior to their game Monday with the Rangers, according to Noah Hiles of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette (X link).  The Bucs will need to make another transaction to create space for McKinney on the 40-man roster.

McKinney was acquired from the Yankees last December, and this will be his first stint on Pittsburgh’s big league roster this season.  His first official in-game appearance will make it seven straight seasons of MLB action for McKinney, ranging from his two games with the Blue Jays in 2020 to his career-high 116 games and 300 plate appearances split between the Brewers, Mets, and Dodgers during the 2021 season.  Most recently, McKinney suited up in 48 games with the Yankees in 2023, hitting .227/.320/.406 over 147 PA.

The left-handed hitting McKinney will add some balance to a Pirates roster that mostly tilts to the right side, and whatever playing time he receives will probably come when the Bucs want to give Michael A. Taylor or Bryan De La Cruz a break against certain right-handed pitchers.  McKinney has spent most of his career as a corner outfielder but he also gotten some time in center field and even at first base, adding to his defensive portfolio in an effort to make himself more valuable to teams.

Pittsburgh’s roster is in a bit of flux after Andrew McCutchen was lost to the 10-day injured list yesterday.  While McKinney certainly won’t replicate McCutchen’s production or presence in the clubhouse, his addition brings a bit more experience to an overall young Bucs team.

Pirates Re-Sign Josh Walker To Minor League Deal

By | at

The Pirates re-signed left-hander Josh Walker to a minor league deal earlier this week, as noted by Alex Stumpf of MLB.com. Walker was dealt from the Mets to the Pirates at the trade deadline last month but was designated for assignment shortly thereafter. Walker suffered an undisclosed injury shortly after joining the Pirates and, as a result, could not be placed on outright waivers when Pittsburgh designated him for assignment. As such, the club evidently instead released Walker before re-signing him to a minor league deal to clear his spot on the 40-man roster while still retaining him in the organization.

Walker, 29, was picked by the Mets in the 37th round of the 2017 draft. The lefty struggled to stay on the field early in his professional career with just 29 total affiliated appearances from 2017 to 2019, most of which came in relief. Following the cancelled minor league season in 2020, Walker returned to action as a starting pitcher in the minors and rapidly climbed the minor league level but hit a bit of a wall at Triple-A, where he struggled to a 5.19 ERA with a strikeout rate of just 15.8% in nine starts.

Those difficulties as a starter in the upper levels of the minors combined with an injury-marred 2022 season led Walker to move back into a relief role in 2023. He put together a dominant performance at Triple-A that year, posting a sparkling 1.84 ERA in 29 1/3 innings while striking out a fantastic 33.3% of batters faced. That excellent work in the minors was enough to earn Walker his first big league call-up at the age of 28 last year, but the lefty struggled in the majors as he allowed eleven runs, nine of them earned, and walked an elevated 12.5% of batters faced in ten big league innings last year. 2024 was more of the same during his time in the Mets organization, as he struck out 31% of batters faced with a strong 2.84 ERA but walked 10.9% of opponents with a lackluster ERA of 5.10.

Walker seemed likely to get another look in the majors with the Pirates at some point this year but his aforementioned injury seems to have derailed things for him, at least for the time being. With few details available regarding Walker’s injury and his timetable for return it’s unclear when or if he’ll pitch again this season, but with less than a year of service time in the big leagues and one minor league option remaining it’s easy to imagine the lefty being an interesting longer-term piece given his recent success at Triple-A.

Pirates Place Andrew McCutchen On 10-Day Injured List

By | at

The Pirates announced that Andrew McCutchen has been placed on the 10-day injured list due to left knee inflammation, and infielder Alika Williams was called up from Triple-A to take McCutchen’s spot on the 26-man roster.  Ryan Palencer of the Bucs On Deck site (X link) was the first to report yesterday that Williams was headed back to the majors, after McCutchen was removed from Friday’s game due to left knee discomfort.

While there’s no truly good time for an injury, the knee problem arises at a particularly unfortunate juncture for McCutchen, as the veteran was in the midst of his hottest stretch of the season.  McCutchen has hit .281/.375/.483 with four home runs over his last 104 plate appearances, boosting his overall slash line to .235/.336/.405 in 437 PA.  That works out to an 109 wRC+ and yet another year of above-average production — now in his 16th MLB season, Cutch has only once dipped below the 100 wRC+ average threshold, as he slowed to a 97 wRC+ when playing with the Brewers in 2022.

Losing McCutchen to the IL is another blow to a reeling Pirates team.  The Bucs’ 5-3 win over the Mariners yesterday snapped a 10-game losing streak that all but ended the club’s chances of snagging an NL wild card berth.  Even that win was bittersweet due to McCutchen’s injury, which occurred while he was running to first base after hitting a single in the seventh inning.

Apart from handful of appearances in right field, the 37-year-old McCutchen has been utilized almost exclusively as a designated hitter over his two-season return to Pittsburgh.  The Pirates will probably just shuffle several players through the DH spot to try and make up for Cutch’s absence, while also giving more at-bats to some younger players in what has suddenly become another evaluation period during the team’s lengthy rebuild.  McCutchen can hopefully be back in short order to put a positive coda onto his season, and continue to set himself up for another contract in 2025.

Pirates Sign Beau Sulser To Minor League Contract

By | at

The Pirates brought Beau Sulser back on a minor league deal on Thursday. Pittsburgh assigned the 30-year-old righty to Double-A Altoona. Sulser had been with the Blue Jays on a non-roster contract before being released last week.

A tenth-round pick by the Bucs in the 2017 draft, Sulser got to the big leagues five years later. He made four appearances before being designated for assignment and lost on waivers to Baltimore. Sulser pitched six times for the O’s and finished his first MLB campaign with a 3.63 earned run average through 22 1/3 innings. He didn’t miss many bats, though, and the Orioles cut him loose at the end of that season.

Pittsburgh claimed him back but ran him through waivers almost immediately. Sulser elected free agency and took a job with the KT Wiz of the Korea Baseball Organization. The Wiz released him in June, setting the stage for another minor league deal with Pittsburgh. Sulser finished the year in Triple-A with the Pirates before signing with Toronto this May.

In 47 2/3 innings with the Jays’ top affiliate in Buffalo, Sulser turned in a 5.29 ERA. He struck out a below-average 17.5% of opponents against a strong 6.1% walk rate. That’s generally par for the course, but Sulser’s grounder rate fell and he had a very tough time keeping the ball in the park (2.45 HR/9). He’ll now move back a step on the minor league ladder but returns to an organization with which he’s clearly familiar, as this is the fourth time the Pirates have acquired him.

Pirates Place Marco Gonzales On 60-Day IL With Forearm Strain

By | at

9:43pm: Pittsburgh now announced that they selected Ryan’s contract before tonight’s game. They placed Gonzales directly on the 60-day injured list to create the necessary 40-man roster spot. While he’d technically be eligible to return at the end of a long playoff run, it’s clear that Gonzales won’t be back this season.

8:21pm: The Pirates will place Marco Gonzales on the injured list due to a forearm strain, manager Derek Shelton told the Pittsburgh beat (X link via Noah Hiles of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette). The Bucs haven’t officially announced that nor a corresponding roster move, but Alex Stumpf of MLB.com tweeted this evening that reliever Ryder Ryan joined the team in San Diego. Ryan is not on the 40-man roster, so the Pirates would need to make another move to bring him up if they place Gonzales on the 15-day IL.

It’s the second time this season that Gonzales has been shelved by a forearm strain. He avoided surgery the first time around but nevertheless was out of action between mid-April and just before the All-Star Break. The southpaw has returned to make four starts. Gonzales only completed five innings in one of those appearances. He surrendered four runs across 2 1/3 frames in his final start of July before allowing five runs over 4 2/3 innings against the Padres last week.

Gonzales has made just seven starts for the Bucs on the whole. He owns a 4.54 ERA with a well below-average 15.2% strikeout percentage and a solid 7.3% walk rate in 33 2/3 innings. That’s fairly typical production for the soft-tossing control artist. Gonzales ate plenty of innings at the back of a rotation at his best in Seattle. He unfortunately has not been able to do that over the last two seasons. A forearm strain also deprived him of the final four months of the 2023 campaign.

The Bucs traded Martín Pérez and Quinn Priester at the deadline. They weren’t selling, but moving Priester allowed them to bring back an upper minors hitting prospect (Nick Yorke) while Pérez was arguably superfluous while Gonzales was healthy. The pair of trades coupled with another Gonzales injury is stretching their starting pitching depth. Pittsburgh has plugged Jake Woodford and Luis Ortiz into the rotation.

Ortiz had a brilliant three-start run in the middle of July but has been hit hard in his most recent trio of appearances. Woodford signed a minor league contract in June after being cut loose by the White Sox. At the MLB level, he has given up 17 runs in as many innings this year. Jared Jones isn’t too far out from returning from a lat strain, but the rotation depth is diminishing at a time when the team is reeling.

Pittsburgh has hung in the playoff mix for most of the season. They’re taking a seven-game losing streak into tonight’s series opener in San Diego. They’re still only five games back of the Braves in the National League Wild Card race, but they’ve dropped five games below .500 and need to jump six teams to get into playoff position. It’s very much an uphill battle.

Gonzales is in the final season of the $30MM extension that he signed with the Mariners back in 2020. The Bucs hold a $15MM option for next year, though that’ll be an easy call for the front office to decline. Pittsburgh is reportedly only on the hook for $3MM of his $12MM salary this year, as the Mariners and Braves each paid down part of the contract among the series of offseason trades that landed him in the Steel City. Even if Gonzales again avoids surgery and is able to make it back for the stretch run, he’ll hit free agency with durability questions going into his age-33 season.

Ryan lost his roster spot on deadline day when the Bucs called up Woodford. He cleared waivers and accepted an outright assignment to Triple-A. The 29-year-old righty made his debut with Seattle last season. He has pitched in 13 games for Pittsburgh, allowing 11 runs (10 earned) across 17 frames. Ryan has tossed 28 1/3 innings with Indianapolis, allowing a 4.45 ERA with a modest 16% strikeout percentage but a strong 50% grounder rate.

Pirates Outright Edward Olivares

By | at

Pirates outfielder Edward Olivares went unclaimed on waivers after last week’s DFA and was assigned outright to Triple-A Indianapolis, per the Pirates’ transaction log at MLB.com. As a player with more than three years of big league service, he has the right to reject the assignment in favor of free agency but will likely accept so as not to forfeit the remainder of his guaranteed $1.35MM salary. (A player needs five-plus years of service to reject an outright assignment and retain his salary.)

Pittsburgh acquired Olivares in a small trade with the Royals back in December, hoping he could continue or build upon the slightly above-average production he turned in with Kansas City over the past couple seasons. From 2022-23, Olivares — whom the Royals picked up from the Padres in exchange for Trevor Rosenthal back in 2020 — batted .270/.322/.439 with 16 homers in 559 trips to the plate. He’s never walked much but also offered lower-than-average strikeout numbers and some value on the basepaths as well.

Olivares has seen his walk rate increase to a nearly average 8.2%, but he’s hitting for far less power and has only attempted one steal this season (which was successful). He batted .224/.291/.333 in 196 plate appearances with the Bucs — about 26% worse than league average, by measure of wRC+. Olivares has plus arm strength — 93rd percentile, per Statcast — but has regularly graded as a poor defender in the outfield corners due to poor reads and poor range (despite slightly above-average sprint speed).

The Pirates’ deadline acquisition of Bryan De La Cruz helped push Olivares out of the picture (despite De La Cruz having a generally similar skill set). De La Cruz, Bryan Reynolds and Michael A. Taylor figure to get the bulk of the outfield playing time down the stretch in Pittsburgh, though an injury or two could always push Olivares right back into the mix.

As a player with three-plus seasons of big league service who’s now been outrighted off his team’s 40-man roster, Olivares will have the opportunity to become a free agent at season’s end unless he’s added back to the 40-man roster between now and then.

NL Central Notes: McLain, Horton, Jones

By | at

After finishing fifth in NL Rookie of the Year voting in 2023, Matt McLain’s sophomore season has thus far been a wash, as a shoulder surgery in March has kept him off the field.  McLain was set to begin a minor rehab assignment tomorrow but those plans have now been put on hold, Reds manager David Bell told the Cincinnati Enquirer’s Gordon Wittenmyer and other reporters.  McLain suffered a stress reaction in his ribcage area last week and was assigned a shutdown period of 3-7 days, which has now stretched to beyond the intended start date of the rehab assignment.

As recently as Thursday, McLain “was having some progress and feeling better,” as Bell relayed about a text message sent to him from the infielder.  The short timeframe of the initial shutdown period would seem to suggest that the rib injury isn’t as serious as it might sound, yet basically any setback at this point adds extra doubt about McLain’s ability to return to action before the 2024 season is over.  He’ll need a pretty lengthy rehab period to get fully ramped up after his layoff, so even if McLain is able to start playing relatively soon, his return to the majors looks like it’ll be in September at the earliest.  The 57-61 Reds are on the outskirts of an NL wild card race that is still relatively compact at the moment, so the team will need all the help it can get (including whatever McLain can provide) if Cincinnati has a shot of leapfrogging the field and snagging a playoff berth.

More from the NL Central…

  • Cade Horton also suffered a setback in his rehab from the subscapularis strain that has kept the Cubs pitching prospect off the mound since late May, Cubs president of operations Jed Hoyer told the Chicago Tribune’s Meghan Montemurro.  As a result, Horton’s 2024 campaign is likely over, as Hoyer said the right-hander probably wouldn’t start throwing again until after the minor league season is finished.  Selected seventh overall in the 2022 draft, Horton is considered one of the top pitching prospects in all of baseball, though his first taste of Triple-A action resulted in an ugly 7.50 ERA over 18 innings (five starts).  Between the shoulder strain, this latest setback, and a Tommy John surgery in his college days, Horton has already had to deal with a lot of injury concerns, and his MLB debut will now have to wait until 2025 at the earliest.
  • In the first start of his minor league rehab assignment, Jared Jones threw 47 pitches over 2 2/3 innings for Triple-A Indianapolis last Thursday.  Pirates GM Ben Cherington said during his weekly radio show today (hat tip to Kevin Gorman of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review) that the plan is for Jones to having another rehab outing on Wednesday with a higher pitch count, and the Bucs will decide from there whether or not Jones could be ready to return from the 15-day injured list.  Jones suffered a Grade 2 strain in his right lat during his last MLB start on July 3, thus necessitating a lengthy IL stint.  Somewhat overshadowed by the Paul Skenes phenomenon, Jones has had a big rookie year of his own, posting a 3.56 ERA over his first 91 big league innings and emerging as another key building block of the Pittsburgh rotation.

Pirates Release Josh Walker

By | at

Today: Walker has cleared waivers, and the Pirates have released him, according to his transaction log on MLB.com.

August 9: The Pirates announced they have designated left-hander Josh Walker for assignment. It was reported yesterday that the club would be selecting righty Domingo Germán but they needed a 40-man roster spot. Righty Hunter Stratton was optioned to get Germán onto the active roster.

Walker, 29, was designated for assignment by the Mets a couple of weeks ago. The Bucs then swung a deal for him, sending rookie ball pitcher Nicolas Carreno the other way, but kept Walker at Triple-A Indianapolis. He made one appearance there before landing on the minor league injured list with an undisclosed injury. Injured players can’t be placed on outright waivers and the trade deadline has passed, so Walker will end up on release waivers in the coming days.

The lefty spent his entire career with the Mets prior to the trade. He has 22 1/3 major league innings under his belt with a 6.45 earned run average, 22.3% strikeout rate and 11.7% walk rate. His minor league numbers are more intriguing. Over 2023 and 2024, he has 59 innings pitched on the farm with a 2.59 ERA and 31.7% strikeout rate, though his 13.9% walk rate is clearly on the high side. He will still have one option remaining after this season and less than a year of service time.

East Notes: Grissom, Suarez, Volpe, Lowe, De La Cruz, Shim

By | at

The Red Sox activated Vaughn Grissom from the 10-day injured list today and optioned the infielder to Triple-A, a move that The Athletic’s Jen McCaffrey reported the team was considering last week.  Grissom hasn’t played in the majors since June 1 due to a right hamstring strain, adding to his troubled first season in Boston.  Between this injury and a left hamstring strain in Spring Training, Grissom has been limited to 23 Major League games, and a dismal .148/.207/.160 slash line in 87 plate appearances.

Some kind of decision was required since Grissom’s 20-day minor league rehab assignment was up tomorrow, but his .604 OPS in 58 Triple-A PA during that assignment didn’t exactly force Boston’s hand for a promotion.  Even as the Sox continue to look for answers at second base, Grissom will need to perform better to earn another call-up, and it remains to be seen when (or even if) he might be back in the majors before 2024 is over.

More from both the AL and NL East…

  • Ranger Suarez has been on the Phillies’ 15-day injured list since July 24, and manager Rob Thomson told Lochlahn March of the Philadelphia Inquirer and other reporters that Suarez isn’t expected back until after the end of the Phils’ next homestand (August 13-18).  Suarez does appear to be making decent progress in his recovery from lower-back soreness, as he threw a 36-pitch bullpen session today.  Perhaps another bullpen session and at least one live batting-practice session will be in order, and Suarez’s return could be delayed a bit longer if the Phillies opt to send him on a minor league rehab assignment.  The left-hander was arguably the best pitcher in baseball over the first three months of the season before his back problems started to surface, and Suarez struggled to a 7.71 ERA in his last 21 innings prior to his IL placement.
  • Anthony Volpe fouled a ball off his left foot during a plate appearance in the second inning of tonight’s 9-4 Yankees loss to the Angels, and the shortstop was eventually forced out of the game in the eighth inning.  Manager Aaron Boone told the New York Post’s Greg Joyce and other reporters that x-rays were negative and Volpe just received a contusion, though more will be known in the coming days if Volpe will need to miss any time.  Volpe has an exactly average 100 wRC+ over 516 PA this season, with a lot of streakiness baked into a .257/.304/.410 slash line.  The second-year player has been hot at the plate recently and is still delivering standout defense at shortstop, so the Yankees can only hope the injury isn’t serious.
  • It was a similar story for Rays outfielder Josh Lowe, as x-rays were also negative on Lowe’s right knee after he fouled a ball off himself in the first inning of tonight’s game.  Lowe was in enough discomfort that he couldn’t take the field for the bottom of the first, but his injury was also deemed a contusion.  A pair of oblique strains have already sent Lowe to the IL twice this season, and he has hit .236/.296/.410 over 213 plate appearances thus far in 2024, playing almost exclusively against right-handed pitchers.
  • The Marlins made several trades during their pre-deadline selloff, and the deal that sent Bryan De La Cruz to the Pirates drew some “disagreement and discussion internally,” according to The Miami Herald’s Barry Jackson and Craig Mish.  De La Cruz isn’t arbitration-eligible until this coming offseason and is now under the Pirates’ control through 2027, but the Marlins’ analytics department wasn’t impressed by his long-term potential, “and a belief that De La Cruz wasn’t going to be a starter [in Miami] when the team is ready to contend.”  The Fish also had a particular interest in prying right-hander Jun-Seok Shim away from Pittsburgh, as Shim’s spin rates and pitching arsenal impressed Miami evaluators.  A Marlins source told Jackson/Mish that the team isn’t concerned about the shoulder issue that has thus far kept Shim from pitching in 2024.

Pirates To Select Domingo German

By | at

The Pirates will select the contract of right-hander Domingo German from Triple-A Indianapolis prior to tomorrow’s game with the Dodgers, according to reporter Mike Rodriguez (X link).  The move comes a day before German’s opt-out date in his most recent minor league contract with Pittsburgh.

It was just over a year ago that German began treatment for alcohol abuse, following a reported incident of an intoxicated German entering the Yankees’ clubhouse and arguing with teammates.  The Yankees placed German on the restricted list and outrighted him off the roster following the season, with German opting to become a free agent.  The trip to the open market led to his first minor league deal with the Pirates, and after his exercised an opt-out clause in mid-July, he re-signed with the Bucs a few days later.

German’s results in Indianapolis have been mixed, as he has a 5.29 ERA, 21.9% strikeout rate, and 10.3% walk rate in 68 Triple-A innings.  Some of the heavier damage did occur earlier in his Triple-A tenure, though it could be that the Pirates’ hand is being somewhat forced by the pending opt-out date.  It isn’t clear if German will start tomorrow’s game against Los Angeles, or if the Pirates might view him as something of a piggyback starter or long man behind an opener.

Mitch Keller, Paul Skenes, and Bailey Falter are lined up to start during the three-game series, so if German does get the start, he could push everyone back a day just to provide the regular rotation members with some extra rest.  Pittsburgh doesn’t play on August 15 and then embarks on a string of 13 games in as many days, so a de facto six-man rotation could help keep everyone fresh for that stretch.  Skenes’ workload has been a big subplot of his incredible rookie season and Jared Jones just started a rehab assignment and could be back from the IL in a couple of weeks, further shaking up the Pirates’ pitching plans as the club also tries to contend for a wild card berth.

German’s first appearance with the Pirates will mark his first Major League game with a team besides the Yankees, as the righty posted a 4.41 ERA over 522 1/3 innings with New York from 2017-23.  German missed the 2019 postseason and the entire 2020 season due to an 81-game suspension for a violation of the MLB/MLBPA domestic violence policy, and his checkered resume also includes a 10-game suspension in 2023 for using foreign substances on the ball, as well as the aforementioned stint on the restricted list.  In between those two absences last season, German entered the record books by throwing a perfect game against the A’s on June 28, 2023.

Show all

MLB Trade Rumors is not affiliated with Major League Baseball, MLB or MLB.com

Do not Sell or Share My Personal Information

hide arrows scroll to top